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Lentaa
The Lentaa (plural Lentaa) are a sapient race native to Skogland. They are currently a technological class VI. Biology Appearance Head A Lentaa’s head is adorned with a magnificent bony crest. The crest rises from just behind the beak in a dome, then sinks again, and is reduced to a small bony ridge, which extends from the back of the skull as a second small crest. The head of a Lentaa is extremely colourful and used often for display. The crest itself is pale red, and striped green. The skin on the upper jaw is yellow, and around the eye is dark blue. The lower jaw is pale red like the crest. The beak itself is black and toothless. They use it to hold small animals, before they slice the animal’s flesh using the razor-sharp edges of the beak. They also have a pouch in the lower jaw for storing food. The skin behind the lower jaw is slightly furry, though the point of this is unknown. Body A Lentaa’s body is normally an olive colour, and the underbelly is white under the neck, and blue under the body. Why the colours are different remains a mystery. The body is furred, though only on the top half. The fur is basically a form of primitive feather, but it has not been fully developed and is still classed as fur. The feathers are the same colour as the Lentaa’s skin, so are normally olive. As well as their wings, Lentaa have clawed rear feet. They don’t need to be to very strong, since the body is light, but is still well-muscled. Lentaa have small, vestigial tails. They have adapted to a lifestyle that is not in great need of one, and have a tail greatly lowers the manoeuvrability of a Lentaa in flight. Tails are normally covered lightly in fur, and are the same colour as the body. Wings Lentaa have leathery wings, which are the same colour as the body on the upperside, but white on the underside. The upperside’s colouration also consists, normally, of some dark blue patches. The Lentaa have clawed hands halfway along the wing, and the rest of the wing bone is actually their fourth finger, like in pterosaurs. The wings are incredibly long, about 12 metres each. They fold upwards when Lentaa are walking on land, but having to fold up so much can irritate them, so Lentaa stay in the air as much as possible, or lie with their wings unfolded. Size Lentaa are five metres long, but weigh on 300 kilograms, because of their hollow bones (see Bone Structure). They have a wingspan of about 25 metres. Muscle and Bone Structure Muscle Structure As Lentaa are considerably larger than Pterosaurs, their musculature must be stronger as well, in two areas. First, the neck musculature has to be stronger, as the head consists of a lot of the total weight, due to the heavy crest. The muscles are larger and stronger to take more strain, and so the Lentaa can hold its head high with little difficulty. Sometimes, when babies are born with underevolved bodies, they cannot take the strain and die, unable to even lift their head. Secondly, the wing musculature is stronger, as they are much larger. The actual shape and function is the same, just enlarged, so Lentaa can fly in the same way as pterosaurs did. Bone Structure A Lentaa’s bones are hollow with the exception of the head. The head, and crest, are solid bone, which is why the muscles in the neck must be stronger (see above). The rest of the bones are made with a honeycomb structure – light and hollow, but strong. This means the average Lentaa only weighs 300kg, and can fly easily, but still have strong bones that don’t break easily. This helps them survive landing after a flight. Diet Because they are beaked animals, Lentaa never swallow very large things at a time. They prey on small reptiles, mammals and fish, but if they find a larger kill, they will snap up small pieces at a time. They will also eat fruits and nuts when they are available. Behaviour Life Cycle Growing Up Lentaa are born from eggs, which are usually laid in clutches of 3-7. After hatching, they are fed regurgitated plant matter by their parents, before moving onto bugs and worms. After a month, they start hunting for themselves, but are still supplied food by their parents, who also protect them from predators. During this time, siblings also playfight to strengthen their bodies, as well as being taught by their parents. Differences between young Lentaa and older ones are easy to see. Youngsters lack the unusually shaped crest and therefore the varied colouration of the adults. Their skin is also a gold colour, instead of olive. After a year, they are left by their parents, and have to become accepted into the main group (the one they were born into) to survive. They will try to gain the respect of the other Lentaa, and how well they do this determines their rank in society. It takes fifteen to seventeen years for females to reach full size, and twenty years for males. They normally reach sexual maturity about two years later, and therefore males are normally the elder of a pair. After this, they can live to age of about 250, though the record is 300. Mating Lentaa normally mate in first spring after they reach sexual maturity. The female will then lay eggs in summer, which will hatch a long time later, the next spring. Until then, the female guards the eggs viciously, and the male hunts for them both. The eggs then hatch in mid- to late-spring. Lentaa try to mate every spring in the case of males, and every other spring in the case of females, for the first one hundred years of their life. They may pair for life, or a male/female will mate with several different individuals of the opposite sex. A baby cannot be produced by two Lentaa of the same sex mating. Social Unit Being sapient, Lentaa live in large, complex groups, split into several subgroups. They have their own language, as well as being able to communicate with body movements. The strongest males lead their subgroup, and they always get to mate. If they fail, they will be replaced. There is no alpha female. The next rank is made up of strong males and females that keep the group in order. They take orders from the leading male, and act as streetguards to keep everyone doing what they should be and to root out traitors. The alpha male also decides on strong males and females to act as border-guards and protect the group from invasion. They also answer to the alpha male. When the Grand Lentaa King orders all the groups to unite, they will do so, and the alpha males will become the equivalents of generals, commanding their troops in a massive army. This army is normally only gathered for wars and planetary conquest, but this changed when most of the population left Skogland as one to escape a foreseen disaster. Technology Weapons Lentaa spaceships are armed with heavy weapons (see below) but Lentaa themselves cannot wear too much weaponry as it would prevent them from flying. They do, however, wear a few light weapons. Shock Claws – Shock Claws are bronze claws that slip over those on the wings of a Lentaa, and function in the same way, but deliver an electric shock on contact with another living things. Stun Bombs – The smallest form of stun bombs create a small explosion, not large enough to any real damage to an environment or an army, but enough to knock out any creatures within a two metre radius. A small enough creature might be killed if a bomb landed on it. The small bombs can be stored in a Lentaa’s beak pouch, and dropped at will. They can then descend on knocked-out enemies and finish them off. Larger, more damaging variants of the stun bomb are also available to the Lentaa, but these are used only on ships. They can kill large creatures, and make a bigger explosion. The larger ones reach the point when they are no longer Stun Bombs, but proper Bombs. Sometimes, medium-sized ones are carried by Lentaa into a battle, and dropped on the enemy. Razor Wing-Edges – These are pieces of titanium alloy built specially to fit around the bone of a Lentaa’s wing. The edge of the titanium is razor sharp, and Lentaa wearing them can cut through most standard materials with their wings. There are two variants: a jagged-edged one and a sharp, smooth one. Armour Lentaa can’t wear armour because they would become too heavy to fly. Instead, they are all registered to a Lentaan spaceship, and each ship generates a force field around every Lentaa registered to it from its own energy. These force fields do wear away, but only very slowly. Spaceships Lentaa spaceships are modelled, to some extent, on the Lentaa themselves. There is a long middle section with curving sides, and a section on either side with walls curving the same way as the main section. These are hinged to the main section, and can be clamped onto the main section by remote control. The main control centre is in a segment of the main part that points forward, rather obviously representing a head. When the ‘wings’ are clamped to the ‘body’, the ship becomes circular, with only the ‘head’ sticking out. The spaceships also have extendable ‘legs’ that come out of the main body, powered by a piston system. These enable the ships to land, though this can only be done when the sections are clamped together. Lentaa spaceships are heavily armed. One type of gun mounted on the ship can shoot superheated plasma, guided by a laser to its targets. They also have guns that can shoot heavy metal projectiles. They are shot with great force, so can be used even in space, and also can be shot continuously, ripping open most conventional materials. The tip of the spaceship is yellow, though for no particular reason other than it can be seen from a distance. In the floor of the spaceship, there are also drop tubes for larger Stun Bombs, though these can only be used where there is gravity. Also for when they are below a planet’s atmosphere, the ships have mounted firearms, as the Lentaa cannot use them outside, on the field. These include rifles and flamethrowers, and are constantly manned during battle. To use them, ships normally land first. However, after the Lentaa's battle with the Kerarans, Lar ordered the spaceship design to be revamped. A plasma cannon was added to the nose, along with more chutes for dropping stun bombs. The ships were increased in size to six kilometres, and the engines made more powerful. History The Lentaa evolved roughly ten million years ago. 500,000 years ago, they gained sapience, and began to build their empire. Once they had created a communicating empire, they began to work on developing space travel. This was only developed about 200 years ago. Then, in the year 3,999,835, the Lentaa foresaw disaster on Skogland, though how is unknown. Most of the empire flew from Skogland, seeking new planets and other sapient life forms, numbering just short of a million individuals. Fifteen years later, Skogland was decimated when a Dimensional Rift opened to the centre of a star. The Lentaa fleet found no shortage of land, but had found no sapient life until they encountered the Salsene space fleet, in 4,000,002. By this time, their number had grown to about 1.1 million individuals. This was followed by a war with the Kerarans, after which they decided to return to Skogland and discover its fate. Intelligence Lentaa are sapient. Culture Religion Lentaa are strict believers in The Supreme Creator, though to avoid conflict between subgroups, Lar ‘Ar Krar often turned a blind eye on non-believers. In previous times, non-believers and their families would have been killed, normally assassinated. Now, though, the race’s leaders are more concerned with war strength than non-believers. Humour Lentaa, though tough warriors, find it incredibly funny to watch creatures being crushed by Storapedes. This was once a common punishment among Lentaa, but now has been mostly dropped in favour of quick, effective murder. Government and Law The Grand Lentaa King is in charge of the entire Lentaa empire. Before the king is appointed, he will most likely have worked with other Lentaa, and therefore chooses his most trusted colleagues to act as commanders and law enforcers. The law of the Lentaa is really very basic, and features only a few rules. *All Lentaa are encouraged to believe in the Supreme Creator *All Lentaa must obey their superiors *All Lentaa must serve their species and never betray the king *Any violation of these rules is punishable by death When a new king is needed, he is chosen from the commanders second to the king. The vote goes to the public – they choose the next. The new king may then reappoint commanders and law enforcers, and the empire is expected to accept him as king immediately, even if they did not vote for him. Should a king be revealed as a traitor to the species, he will be killed and replaced. Females can never be king, though the king may choose a single female to mate with every two years, in which case she is called a princess. Clothing Lentaa do not wear clothing. Interaction with other races Lutrian The Lentaa formed an alliance with the Lutrians to battle the Kerarans. They were also the first sapient species encountered by the Lentaa. Salsene The Lentaa formed an alliance with the Salsenes to battle the Kerarans. They were met shortly after the contact with the Lutrians. Keraran The Lentaa fought the Kerarans when they first met, alongside the Lutrians and Salsenes. Daemon/Gehennian Upon arriving in the Daemoniverse through a wormhole, the Lentaa declared war on the daemons, taking the planet Ymir and seemingly killing Iceflame. They then advanced on Unda, but after shooting down Arethusa's deathship, they were sent into retreat by Bloodburn's Armageddon. Verplaatsen On return from the Daemoniverse, they encountered the Verplaatsen. The brief but destructive war that followed wiped out most Lentaa. Aian The Aians aided the allied forces of the Lutrians, Salsenes and Lentaa, finally eradicating the Kerarans. Later, when the Lentaa lead ship used FTL and arrived on a planet, they encountered a deranged, non-sapient Aian. In Fiction *Story: The Enemy of my Enemy *Story: Lentaa Assault *Story: Might of the Verplaatsen *Story: The Lentaa Tomboy *Story: Lentaa Recovery *Story: Skrapping Notable Lentaa *Lar 'Ar Krar - most recent Grand Lentaa King *Perito - Lentaa geneticist *Auttaa - Perito's assistant Category:Skogland Category:Sapient Beings Category:Animals Category:Plains Animals Category:Jungle Animals Category:Omnivores Category:Lentaa Category:Daemoniverse Category:Reptiles